In the ongoing joint congressional hearing on electric rates, Meralco and Napocor came out as responsible for the high rates charged to customers in the Metro Manila grid. Meralco was accused of mismanagement while Napocor was pointed out as equally guilty of some lapses along with other players of the power industry, particularly the National Transmission Company.
One of the charges against Meralco was management abuse, as commission chairperson Senator Miriam Santiago calls it. To support this, she cited the high salaries currently enjoyed by the company’s top executives – P97 million for 7 of them and P170 million for the officers and members of the board of directors. Other charges, such as buying power at peak periods, bloated generation rates, and non-reduction of power rates despite reduction of cost given by Napocor, were also heaped upon the Lopez-run company.
At this point in time it is difficult to see who the major culprit is on the high power rates charged to customers. In subsequent hearings, more details are expected to be spilled out insofar as the alleged lapses of the agencies are concerned. For example, in what specific instances has Meralco’s management been remiss in its functions? What about Napocor and Transco, what malfeasances have they committed in the task of power generation and transmission? It would be interesting to find out because both agencies have been known to have been in cahoots with Meralco on a plan to pass on to consumers the payment of their mutual P14 billion indebtedness.
Also calling for explanation is why Meralco has been charging to its consumers the cost of “systems loss” and how much is the aggregate collection on this annually. This should interest consumers not only in Manila but also in Metro Cebu.
Like those in the capital city, consumers in Cebu City and nearby areas are also charged fees for system loss. We know this because every time we get our bill we make it a point to scrutinize the items therein. For instance, in the billing for April we were charged P236.54 for “system loss” under the heading Generation and Transmission. Then under Government Revenues we were again slapped for “system loss” amounting to P13.31 or a total of P249.85 for the month.
Why is VECO like Meralco making their consumers pay for “system loss”? If system loss is loss of power due to pilferage, poor quality of transmission lines, and other factors, why is the cost passed on to consumers? If there are illegal connections, is this the fault of the subscribers? If voltage drop in line is high due to low quality of electric wire used, why are the users made to pay for it?
We hope VECO would explain this. We hope too that for transparency’s sake it would explain the rationale of charging its clients the various items that appear in its billing sheet. Some of these are Greek to us, e.g., supply charge, metering charge, subsidy on lifeline, missionary electrification, environmental charge’s and others.
With regard to the ongoing Meralco probe, it would be great if Congress would expand its inquiry to cover other electric power companies in the country. Of course, the probe should include the operation of Napocor and Transco in these areas. It is possible that these agencies have adopted practices that are contrary to the thrust of availing low cost electricity in their service areas. It is also possible that mismanagement on the part of the electric companies and that of these two government agencies has been a factor of costly power rates.
If these are done there’s a likelihood that the power rates benchmarked by these companies can still be reduced. With the skyrocketing fuel cost one can expect a parallel rise in power rates. However, if the power providers would stop charging their customers those items which appear superfluous and unjustified such rise would be minimal.
With the masses heavily burdened by run-away food prices and prices of basic commodities, now is the time for conscience-driven businessmen and key officials in the power industry to share with the people the latter’s calvary. The quest for big profits and perks should be tempered with sympathy and understanding and a willingness to let go of the bounties they used to enjoy in better days.
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Email: edioko_uv@yahoo.com